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Character Creation
Rolling Up A Character Just like the various fantasy settings you have to choose from, there are also multiple ways to roll up characters to fit into these fantasy settings. I will list 3 such methods that I have used over the years here. That is not to mean there are only three to choose from, as the Player’s Handbook has several different methods listed there that you could use, but these are the three I’ve used in Greyfeather over the years. Low Fantasy Roll 4d6 With no re-rolls, take the highest three dice and roll three sets of stats. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. You should have six number in a straight line from top to bottom. Now roll three sets of these stats. Now, choose the highest roll on each line. For example, on line 1, there is a 12, a 14 and a 13. 14 is the highest roll on that line. Do this for all six lines. These are your base stats. In this example, you have a 14, 15, 16, 12, 16 and 16. Now that you have your base stats, you get to choose which attribute you wish to put them on. You do not have to put them in this exact order. If you need a character with a high Intelligence, take the 16 and put it there. If you have a set of stats that cannot be used (such as all 6's or 7's) then it is allowed to reroll the complete set. I would caution against this as it is sometimes more enjoyable to take those terrible stats and make something useful out of them. Remember, at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you will be getting 2 points to place toward stats, so not all is lost. In some classes, you get even more bonus points to stats, so try to work with what you have at all costs. Never re-roll stats without checking with the DM first. Medium Fantasy Roll 4d6, Re-roll 1’s By re-rolling 1’s, you increase the chances of better scores to help your players along their journey. With this method, I still have them roll each stat and roll 3 sets of these stats, then choose the best stat from each and then move the stats to where they would be most beneficial. High Fantasy Roll 5d6, Re-roll 1’s With this method, the player is almost guaranteed to get quite a few good scores. Again, roll each stat, and roll 3 sets of these stats, then choose the best stat from each and then move the stats to where they would be most beneficial. Alignment When you play a particular alignment, remember what that alignment truly means to your character. Those who choose Lawful must remember that they believe in order above chaos. If your character starts doing things randomly, without any thought, they are not Lawful. As the DM, I reserve the right to make alignment changes to characters who I feel are not playing their alignment as they should. I will give you a warning if I feel you're stepping outside of the alignment you chose for your character, but after that I will be keeping a closer eye on how that character is played and may make you change your character's alignment. Ability Score Increases When players get an ability score increase, if they do not have an ability they want to increase they can instead put 2 points into skill that they are proficient in, or one point on two skills they are proficient in. You cannot put those points on saving throws. Characters used to be allowed to take a feat instead, or put 2 points into spell DC, but this is no longer allowed. Aging As a character ages, they begin to lose some of those important attributes due to age. During their adult life those attributes are at their prime, but once they reach the Venerable stage some of those stats start to go down. Venerable: Lose 2 points of Strength, 2 points of Dexterity and 1 point of Constitution. They gain 1 point of Intelligence and 1 point of Wisdom. End of Life: Lose 2 points of Strength, 2 points of Dexterity and 2 points of Constitution. They gain 2 points of Wisdom. These losses and gains are cumulative, which means that both apply. Refer to the Players Handbook for what is considered aged for each of the different races. However, it is also up to DM discretion. Starting Equipment The following is my chart for starting gold and how you obtain starting equipment. In the Player's Handbook book, they do not address how you came by that armor or that weapon, or what’s in your pack. Under the assumption that the struggle is real, you will be assigned starting gold, and you will buy your armor and your weapon, unless you choose the lowest standard of each. Meaning, if the book says that you can wield a greatsword or a long sword, the cheapest is the long sword and that is what you would have without cost. If you want a greatsword, you have to buy it. Same goes for armor. The lowest armor class is free, the higher one costs you. Currency 100 copper equals 1 silver 100 silver equals 1 gold 50 silver equals 1 electrum 2 electrum equals 1 gold 10 gold equals 1 platinum Greyfeather (Low fantasy) The starting gold for all classes is 150 gold pieces (low fantasy setting). Orander (Medium fantasy) The starting gold for a 1st level character is 250 gold pieces. They also start with the best equipment allowed by their class. Whitefeather (High fantasy) The starting gold for a 1st level character is 500 gold pieces, due to the economy being much better than it is in Greyfeather. They also start with the very best equipment allowed by their class. Tool Proficiencies This is one area that I have really struggled with since I began playing in 5E. There is little information on how a player progresses through use of tools in the game. Yes, they get a proficiency with them, but they didn’t really get into how that works. I understand the premise a bit better now and I wanted to put my spin on how those will work in my game worlds. First of all, not all races or classes get to choose a tool skill, such as blacksmithing, tailoring, leather working, etc. Some do, some don’t. But this shouldn’t exclude anyone who really wants to do something like that. If a player wishes to work on a particular skill, they are free to do so. Certain criteria need to be addressed before I will allow this. If a player wishes to take a tool proficiency, even if their class or race says they can, they need to explain this in their backstory. You don’t magically learn a skill. Did you apprentice to someone? How long did you work on this? What did they teach you? These are important questions. If your race or class does not grant you proficiency with a tool kit, you can still take one, but those questions must be answered for me to allow it. The minimum amount of time you can spend and gain proficiency in a tool kit is 5 years. It takes that long to learn it from scratch. In your backstory, you need to allocate at least 5 years to those skill. This is just your base proficiency in that skill. As it says in the Player’s Handbook, what you are making will determine which ability modifier I require for you to check the skill. In this case, on your character sheet, you will only put down your Proficiency Bonus for that tool skill. When I ask for a check, I will tell you which ability modifier to add into that number. As with all artisan crafting, you can progress beyond the basics and move toward more lofty goals. In such a case, it will require the player to devote six months of time to that craft with no distractions to move from basic proficiency to expertise proficiency (double proficiency bonus). This means that you must practice only that skill for those six months. By no distractions, I mean you can only work on that particular skill, nothing else. You cannot double up on anything else. To reach Mastery level craftsmanship, you must spend an additional 18 months with no distractions to move to Mastery (triple proficiency bonus). When you reach this stage, you can craft master items of exceptional quality, and charge very high prices for the sale of those items. This is the only skill in Greyfeather that you can gain a triple proficiency bonus in.